HCLM BLOG

We’ve been going through the book of Mark in our Sunday School Bible Class at 830AM and it’s amazing to see just how fast the crowds and the message/impact of Jesus grew! In just the first chapter it says the whole city was gathered at the door where Jesus was staying! Just a few verses later, (35-39) Jesus withdrew to a desolate place to get away from everyone and pray. In Chapter 2, the crowd is packed in the house so much so that the 4 guys who brought their paralytic friend had to go on the roof and lower him down in order for him to be healed. And it didn’t stop intensifying from there!

Mark’s Gospel moves pretty fast! it’s amazing how many times he uses the word “immediately” or “at once”. I have an appreciation for the book of Mark because I feel like my life moves pretty fast too. I don’t have the same pressures and the same intensity that Jesus was facing, for sure, but Mark’s Gospel just reminds me that sometimes things move “at once” or “immediately.” So the question isn’t “How can I avoid these moments altogether,” but rather, “What do we do when things get intense or move faster than we are used to?”

I am so grateful for what God has done in the last month with the life of this church. Things have been intense here for quite a while now! I feel like we are kind of in a whirlwind right now. I don’t know if things will slow down or when they will slow down. There’s always something to do or something that can be done! So if our lives reflect the pace of what’s going on in the Gospel of Mark and especially with the life Jesus had, then shouldn’t we do what Jesus did in order to cope with the busyness and the stress of a fast-paced life?

It’s amazing how many times Jesus went off or went away from the crowd. He did it to rest, he did it to pray, he did it to spend quality time with his disciples (those that were closest to him) away from the crowds. May we too pursue those moments. Moments where we rest. Moments where we pray. And moments where we take those who are closest to us and spend quality time with them! Which one of these is easiest/hardest for you?